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The Singing River Electric Power Association recently transferred a $740,000 interest-free federal loan to Mississippi Export Railroad to build a barge-to-rail loading facility in Jackson County, Miss.
To be located along the north bank of the Escatawpa River, the facility will accommodate freight needed to be transloaded from barges to rail before continuing on to a final destination.
The association obtained the loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Service, which helps fund economic development.
The loan will help the railroad provide new jobs and add new services for customers, said Dederia Demouey, vice president of Mississippi Export Railroad, in a prepared statement.
The 42-mile Mississippi Export Railroad — which is marking its 90th anniversary this year — operates between Evanston and Pascagoula, Miss., and interchanges with CSX Transportation and CN. Through haulage agreements, the short line also interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway in Mobile, Ala., and Hattiesburg, Miss., and with Kansas City Southern in Jackson, Miss.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News